We are so thrilled that Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy won the Oscar Prize for her short documentary on “Honor Killings” in Pakistan even though her adversary, a conservative politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman views the law as a “humiliation of husbands.” Even the New York Times sat up and took notice (As did lots of other media outlets around the world.)

Ms. Chinoy tackles the tough stuff in her culture, while Ms Hameed, the lawmaker believes it is vital for the new legislation to eliminate the pressure on women to forgive their families – a key point in this gut wrenching film where culture trumps real life.

Nawaz Sharif has served twice as Prime Minister of Pakistan. His previous record on corruption was – well, Pakistani, which is not too strong a recommendation.

And diminishing the role of the military and the super powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, similar to our CIA, are tougher challenges for him this time around – his last term ended with a military coup. His record on curtailing the power of militant jihadist radicals has been inconsistent. History shows that Sharif originally supported the Taliban in Afghanistan to aid Pakistan and opposes drone strikes. He was also protected by the Pakistani Taliban who circumvented pre-election attacks on Sharif’s party, his candidates and political rallies – indicating a certain coziness here.

(The general wisdom is that he should not try and mitigate issues with the Afghan Taliban – especially with the recent debacle of setting up an office, consulate in Qatar for the Taliban – but rather leave that to the Afghans to resolve.)

But this time, Sharif seems to have a clear agenda with a commitment to democracy, the economy and an exit strategy for the military which ruled the country for 40 years. He also has clear cut challenges: eradicating radical Islamist terrorism, while creating peace and changing the economic dynamic with India. Many of our Pakistani friends envision this as a “reverse partition” aiming for an eventual South Asian Economic Union and a boon for the Indo-Pak-Bangladeshi economies. But if Sharif is going to play it differently this time, he’s going to need the help of strong Pakistani women – I’m giving the microphone to two of them now.

An Exciting New Vision of Indo-Pak Rapprochement

Sherry Rehman, who until recently was Pakistan’s envoy to the US, excites me with her refreshing perspective on Indo-Pak politics. She envisions a dynamic game plan for Indo-Pak convergence and recently gave a talk in New Delhi on “Regional Peace and the Strategic Imagination.” She outlined a revitalized vision for rapprochement between India and Pakistan who really are two peas in a pod – in heart, mind and soul. “Rapprochement” is Ms Rehman’s mantra: what others view as a blockage, such as, the Line of Control in Kashmir, she views as “a spur to dialogue.” She’s bold and asks: “The question is, are we going to be prisoners or leaders of our destiny?” And she opines: “Countries that do business with each other don’t relish going to war with each other.” So true. She speaks to India and Pakistan turning to each other and reaping a huge peace dividend and says boldly: “Strategic empathy is the need of the hour from India, not policy drift…. Because otherwise the enemies of peace score a victory.”

“One of the most stunning facts about Malala is her passion for non- violence because she said she has no revenge for the man who shot her and would not shoot the Talib who tried to assassinate her even is she had a gun in hand. This is the philosophy of nonviolence that I have learned from Gandhi, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa.” Stay tuned to this young woman

Nick Kristoff astutely reminds us that “Change can come not only from a bomb but also from a girl with a school book studying under a tree or in a mosque.” And she can make paradigm shifts in her village, her slum, her city. “She will have fewer children, be more likely to hold a job and exercise more influence; her brothers and her children will be less likely to join the Taliban”…. And more likely to change the cultural and social norms, contributing to peace.

So can Nawaz Sharif, a traditional patriarchal, male Punjabi politician recognize the insights of strong Pakistani women like Sherry Rehman and Malala? Can he embrace non-violence, women’s education and a new relationship with India?

A lot rides on the answer.

Khadijah’s daughters is a blog by Shahnaz Chinoy Taplin, board president of Invest in Muslim Women, a non-profit project of the Global Fund for Women. Invest in Muslim Women focuses on the economic empowerment of Muslim women, justice and peace. The blog is inspired by Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad’s first wife and the quintessential role model for Muslim women. She was the first convert to Islam, the first Muslim woman entrepreneur, a globalist and a feminist.

]]>http://investinmuslimwomen.org/?feed=rss2&p=13070Pakistan Goes to the Polls: The Promise and Potentialhttp://investinmuslimwomen.org/?p=1331
http://investinmuslimwomen.org/?p=1331#respondWed, 08 May 2013 07:30:58 +0000http://investinmuslimwomen.org/?p=1331Date: May 8, 2013

Pakistan goes to the polls on May 11, 2013. The promise and the potential of a fresh beginning — for the moment — feels heady. The Afghan war has taken its toll on Pakistan. Can the country reinvent itself with a clear eye on the challenges and opportunities it faces in South Asia — at the age of 65 in its new political incarnation — even as it is flanked by Afghanistan and India?

Growing up in India, Pakistan seemed like the bright successful shiny country bordering a rather poor India. It seemed that success for Pakistan was just around the corner, even as India struggled with its many millions of impoverished masses. But history has turned out differently — and now Pakistan is the struggling member of the family.

Chess Board of Politics: Pakistan has straddled between democracy and dictatorship since its inception in 1948. It now has multiple, often feudal based, political parties associated with a handful of political leaders who have played musical chairs for over 50 years. The names and faces of the politicians are sparse, recurring — alternating dictators and democrats. Gallup poll predicts 41 percent and The Economist‘s most recent survey predicts that 59 percent of the vote will go to Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N). The article also commends Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif for “getting things done.” But politics is not easy business anywhere and certainly not in Pakistan.

Modernity vs. Antiquity: These polar opposites define the struggle for the soul of Pakistan. Modernity entrains education, employment and empowerment for women. Antiquity clings onto age old taboos pertaining to women’s roles, segregation, and subservience — all of which cumulatively and negatively impact the place, the position and the power of women in Pakistani society. Reconfiguring the Muslim women’s role in the spirit and teaching of Islam, where “Paradise rests beneath the feet of your mother” could catalyze a paradigm shift in Pakistani society.

Pakistan has a population of 180 million, with 37 million women and 48 million men registered to vote. But in reality, Farzana Bari, human rights activist and university professor at the Quaid-i-Azam University “estimates that at least 11 million eligible women will not be able to vote simply because authorities have not granted them national identity cards.” This is a travesty. In India, the voting gap between Muslim men and women in Kashmir is 5 percent. But In Pakistan, the voting gap is expected to be 25 percent.

Conservative Pakistani women conform to a traditional code of conduct, wearing the burqa or hijab, being accompanied by a male guardian in public at all times, and mostly staying within the confines of the home. The election commission tried to overcome these social/cultural taboos by passing legislation in parliament requiring at least 10 percent of the women’s vote for candidates running for office, but the measure failed.

Some mullahs deny Pakistani women the right to vote on the grounds that women’s voting is un-Islamic. Where did these Mullahs get these ideas, when women participated in the council that chose Abu Bakr, the first successor, to Prophet Mohammad in eighth century Arabia?

The challenges of modernity versus antiquity for women are uniquely challenging for women curtailed by social taboos and Taliban imposed edicts in the North West frontier region. The Talibans’s code of conduct, for example, prohibits a married woman from voting for a male elected representative — but also precludes women candidates running for political office.

In the tough neighborhoods of the North West frontier’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts, the ban on women voting in the election will be hard to lift. It is in these areas where old customs don’t yield easily to new norms, new economies and equal rights for men and women — even in today’s democratic Pakistan.

Marriage and divorce in tribal Pashtun cultures are loaded issues — even in local elections. This was clear in Battagram. An election was declared null because women were threatened with divorce if they voted. In the rerun, the threat of divorce was lifted and women participated successfully.

Badama Begum, a 33-year-old school teacher who worked the 2008 elections says not a single woman came to vote in Maardan in the North West Frontier Province – even though the government provided women election aids. Despite regressive restrictions, I am in awe of the tenacity of Muslim women.

Look at Khalida Bibi, a 39-year-old housewife from Dargai in the North West. She was eager to participate in the 2002 and 2008 elections – until she ran up against local opposition which stopped her. But make no mistake, Khalida Bibi, a determined Muslim women, shows her metal when she says “I hope I will succeed this time because the election commission does not want to ban women from voting.”

But it does look like the national election will be held — and perhaps fairly. For the first time in Pakistan’s 65-year history, an elected government will hand over power to another elected successor. The newly elected leaders will need to confront three critical challenges: First, to rescue Pakistan — often viewed as a “failed state” – from a collapsing economy and a challenging security situation. Second, to make peace with India across the border, and deal head on with the dangerously unresolved “Kashmir” issue. If these flash points are eliminated, the Indo-Pak cross border bridge building will start — laying the foundation for Indo-Pak economic cooperation, growth and prosperity between these two vital countries which together constitute 20 percent or 1/5 of the the world’s population.

Finally, to create a positive paradigm shift in Pakistan, a critical ingredient is to educate, employ and empower Pakistani women — give them a shot, give them the opportunities and see them flourish. The women can strengthen the social fabric, the economy and the state of the nation with their vital contributions.

Khadijah’s daughters is a blog by Shahnaz Chinoy Taplin, board president of Invest in Muslim Women, a non-profit project of the Global Fund for Women. Invest in Muslim Women focuses on the economic empowerment of Muslim women, justice and peace. The blog is inspired by Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad’s first wife and the quintessential role model for Muslim women. She was the first convert to Islam, the first Muslim woman entrepreneur, a globalist and a feminist.

A revolution averted: as we prepared to fly to Pakistan, we realized that the country was being held hostage by a charismatic Canada based cleric, Dr. Tahirul Qadri, chief of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran. He held a march with 40-50,000 of his supporters in Islamabad with the singular objective of overthrowing the current government – ostensibly to be replaced by a clean and uncorrupt government – which could potentially disrupting democracy in the country.

Mr Qadri aimed to dislodge President Asif Zardari’s government – renowned for its corruptness – and to replace it with a new administration led by technocrats. For some Pakistanis, Dr. Qadri’s march in Islamabad conjured up fears of a military take over once again while many questions about Mr Qadri, his supporters and funders are left unanswered. The common wisdom is that Pakistani expats in Canada corroborated with him, but the reason for this is not clear. Interestingly, Mr Qadri is a preacher – but decisively not a fundamentalist. In fact, he is much like the aging activist Anna Hazare in India, who last year maintained a long standing fight against corruption and for clean government through months of protests and a sustained fast, despite his ripe age.

Mr. Qadri ‘s five day campaign which he took to the streets enabled him to score modest gains — a date set for the next election and a screening criteria for candidates – to stem corruption. Credit for the resolution goes to the Pakistani leaders who salvaged the precarious situation skillfully. While I am not a fan of Zardari’s, kudos to him and his team for creating “a cooling down” period which enabled negotiators on both sides to save face. Mr. Qadri stepping back was literally and metaphorically helped by unseasonal rains which provided him with an opportunity to call off the protest, rescuing his street supporters from winter weather exacerbated by the lack of water, food and sanitary facilities.

Mr. Qadri’s rally focused on key issues for Pakistanis at a historic moment as the first civilian led government (not a military dictatorship) will now yield to another democratic government. This is a giant step forward for Pakistan. Adnan Rehmat in his article, “Old Tricks, New Pakistan’ captures the political mood and spirit in the country and he writes “a new Pakistan is shaping up” with decidedly different characteristics. This includes a greater demand for democracy, inclusivity, better governance, support for electoral politics, a guarantee of fundamental rights by the state with pressure for party reforms. He highlights the new political parties like Imran Khan’s and Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran (Mr. Qadri’s Party), stepping up to assert a new agenda focused on governance, basic services and a solid bill of rights for citizens.

Bottom line: a violent disruption of the election process was averted – peacefully, While the bazaars in Karachi were shut down for a day to protest yet another tragic assassination there, we zipped thru a traffic free ride into the city – thanks to hourly updates on safety issues for tourists which our friends at Hum TV in Karachi kindly provided.

There is no question that this was a big step for Pakistan in the right direction: These negotiations reflected a sign of maturity for Pakistan’s president and his team. There is more here that bodes well: People we spoke with took pride in how the country’s leadership handled these delicate negotiations, salvaging a potentially fractious situation. The intelligencia, media and American diplomats were almost buoyant, saying “this could be a turning point for Pakistan.” They were optimistic about the outcome and the mature handling of a crisis by politicians who in the past have often been politically clumsy. This time around, the president’s men handled the challenging situation brilliantly – earning a well deserved Bravo for Pakistan !

Pakistanis are a lovely people and equally well known for their conspiracy theories. On the other side of the divide, many Pakistanis saw the troubling influence of their powerful armed forces behind him.

Some say that Nawaz Sharif, leader of the opposition party supported President Zardari because he believed that Mr. Qadri was promoting a “conspiracy against democracy”, paving the way for an army coup. Interestingly, a professional Pakistani woman in the seat next to me on the flight to Islamabad said she had heard that this whole situation was rigged by the President himself to blow off the possibility of a military take over! This rumor was also corroborated by our politically connected hosts in Lahore.

While Pakistan is often dismissed as a “failed state,” Mr Qadri clearly tapped into a deep and smoldering discontent on the streets. Pakistan’s politicians are often corrupt and contemptuous of their constituents. Mr Qadri capitalized on the political grievances and combined them with other deep seated issues, including terrorism, unemployment and energy shortages. “Clean” politics is a dream in Pakistan attributed to “the boiling rage experienced by the common man.” Imran Khan, cricketer-turned-politician, is running on a platform denouncing corruption while embracing clean politics, is a star attraction, drawing big crowds to his rallies.

The new mantra for the progress and stability of countries in South Asia is good governance, clean politics and inclusivity with a special focus on economically empowering women – for the well being of our countries on multiple levels.

The march from Lahore to Islamabad was a historic first in many ways: it was positive, peaceful and focused on intrinsic issues of clean governance and national interests. Further and importantly, the march included educated women and girls, men and boys who are key stakeholders. A historic step for Pakistan – reinvigorating democracy and a vote for hope for the men and women on the street.

Shahnaz Chinoy Taplin’s blog is inspired by Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad’s first wife. Khadijah is the quintessential role model for Muslim women. She was the first convert to Islam, the first Muslim woman entrepreneur, a globalist and a feminist.

]]>http://investinmuslimwomen.org/?feed=rss2&p=10430Iqra or read is the very first word in the Quranhttp://investinmuslimwomen.org/?p=741
http://investinmuslimwomen.org/?p=741#respondWed, 16 Jan 2013 12:34:03 +0000http://investinmuslimwomen.org/?p=741

Date: Oct 2012

Let’s all pay tribute to Malala Yousafzai.

Given that the Quran starts with the word “read,” I am stunned to witness the Taliban in Pakistan, who consider themselves good Muslims, open fire on Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old girl in Mingora, Swat. As she rode her school bus they shot her with bullets, leaving her in critical condition. Malala is not an ordinary Pakistani girl, she is a veritable star. The extraordinary daughter of her father, a school teacher, she dreamed of being educated, becoming a doctor, and was also the 2011 winner of Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize.

Malala lives in Swat, a region subjected to vicious subjugation by both the Taliban and the Pakistani army — and a region where the lack of education for women has enabled extremist preachers to influence the uneducated and particularly the girls. It’s also a part of a region where Invest in Muslim Women’s Pakistani partners have managed to keep peace in 27 of 30 districts — but, tragically, not all of them, and not Mingora.

If reading has a priority placement in the Quran, why is it that the Taliban targeted Malala for her crusading passion for education? Could it be because the Taliban reject the core tenets of Islam and consider education to be “obscene” and a “symbol of Western culture?”

In true Islam, women have rights to education, to work, to divorce with a financial settlement, to own property, to marry and remarry. As a young teen, Malala knew her Islamic rights when she said in a CNN interview: “I have the right to education. I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to go to market. I have the right to speak up.”

Malala took inspiration from her father’s life; she watched him run a school for girls. She does not mince her words. She urged her cohorts to stand up to the Taliban because she believes that on judgement day we will all be asked why we stood by silently when people were being blown up. Malala is bold and brave — unequivocally supported by her father — despite her defying Taliban threats against her.

The Taliban attack on Malala has been so outrageous, so un-Islamic that even Jamaat ud Dawa, the charity arm of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taliban denounced the act in no uncertain terms: “Shameful, Despicable, Barbaric attempt” was posted on the group’s official Twitter feed, according to an editorial in the New York Times, and “Curse b upon assassins and perpetrators.

“Nicholas Kristoff nails the intrinsic issues at stake in the battle between Islamist extremists and the rest of society when he quotes a 19-year-old female student at Peshawar University who says: “This is not just Malala’s war. It is a war between two ideologies, between the light of education and the darkness.”

Malala’s priorities are clear when she writes to a New York Timesreporter: “I want an access to the world of knowledge.”

Our prayers are with Malala.

Personally, I see this battle as being about women’s minds, women’s education, women’s progress and women’s power. Women are on one side, the Taliban is on the other. I vote with the women — unequivocally.”

Shahnaz Chinoy Taplin’s blog is inspired by Khadijah, Prophet Muhammad’s first wife. Khadijah is the quintessential role model for Muslim women. She was the first convert to Islam, the first Muslim woman entrepreneur, a globalist and a feminist.

“So what did they know?” I asked a dear Pakistani friend in Washington DC, who a few years ago had been able to meet with senior Taliban officials in Karachi easily, if he also knew about Osama living in Abbottabad or knew somebody who knew about Osama’s hide out. “Do you think the Pakistan government knew of bin Laden’s existence in Abbottabad?”

He responded, “It is a complex landscape. The Afghan Taliban enjoyed Pakistani support during the Soviet era. Many of the older Pakistani military personnel, who are now retired, are probably still close to the Afghan Taliban.” He thought there were definitely people “in the know” about “people in hiding.” He likened the bin Laden hideout to a Sherlock Holmes detective story where the criminal is always under the nose of the detective in an obvious — but overlooked hiding place.

We and our Madrasa teachers were just down the road: The Muslim Women’s Fund’s (MWF) very first project — a curriculum training workshop for girls madrasa teachers on non-violence, human rights and gender equality took place in Abbottabad, just as the U.S. was beginning to track Osama. We gathered 37 teachers from 27 madrasas for our first teacher training workshop — and we certainly didn’t know who our neighbor was!

Shuja Nawaz, a Pakistani and director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington gives us his analysis of the bin Laden operation:

“Killing bin Laden has indeed succeeded at putting pressure on the Pakistani army, but not to the effect that Washington may have wished. The truth is that Pakistanis are angrier about the United States’ ability to launch a special-operations raid right under their noses than they are that bin Laden was found on their soil-and the military is bearing the brunt of the criticism inside Pakistan. Text-message jokes about the army are making the rounds, parliament is angrily voicing embarrassing questions about the military’s lack of preparedness, and the chattering classes are tossing ceaseless insults. But it’s the United States that now has the most to lose.”

Parallels with Palestine: As I listened to President Obama’s speech last week, challenging the Israelis and Palestinians to revisit an old paradigm for peace, suggesting a return to the 1967 boundaries as a starting point, I realized that there were many parallels between the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and what the Economist this week called “the world’s most dangerous border” — that between India and Pakistan.

Look at the list:

Israel was birthed in 1948; the India/Pakistan partition was in 1947.

Both remain unresolved because they ended with cease-fires, not agreed on borders.

Both involve conflicts between a Muslim and a non Muslim population.

Both are hot spots – at boiling point – which have destabilized their regions.

Both put the world at great risk.

Both have militarized their regions, putting war over education, employment, economic and social progress. (Pakistan expends 16% of its budget on defense and 1.2% on education.)

The old stalemates are breaking up: The unreliability of Pakistan as an ally is one of the President’s biggest challenges. But the Middle East is another.

President Obama is eager to resolve the Israeli-Palestine conundrum, cognizant of the urgency, as President Mahmoud Abbas seeks a UN vote on nationhood for Palestine in September. Some might like his initiative and others might not, but one thing is clear: the Arab Spring has created tectonic shifts. Entrenched tribes fight to preserve old customs even as the globe gallops along the Internet highway, heralding a new world. A dramatic new world order, allows countries previously considered as “have-nots,” to flex their muscle, enjoying unprecedentedly high growth rates. Even the International Monetary Fund, long dominated by European and American leadership, is being challenged by China, Turkey, and maybe even India.

As spring becomes summer, will Islamists share power or dominate? Will women have equal voice, power and participation? The Arab Spring and the Arab street perplex us. The Islamist parties are surfacing more visibly in Tunisia, Syria and Egypt. Will they take over? Will they share power and leadership with women — who have been at the forefront of the revolutions as equals with men? In Libya, we note that only 2 women have been appointed in the new government body of 40 members. With dictators in power from three to four decades in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria, there is a leadership vacuum and a lack of significant civil society institutions. Where do we start? How do we help the rebels of yesterday be the leaders of tomorrow? How do we ensure that women — half the population — will be granted equal voice, power and participation in the new governments?

What’s the role of outsiders? Even for those of us who want to empower the rebels to move forward and give them the tools to build democratic societies, we need to recognize this is their revolution, not ours. These are their dreams for democracy, not western imposed mandates. A few days ago, one of my donors told me that an American colleague of hers, who had just returned from meeting key players in the revolution in Egypt, suggested that Westerners lie low and let the Egyptians lead the way. Having been in Cairo just before the revolution erupted where I met key leaders from a handful of independent NGOs, I would suggest an alternative frame: Yes, let the Egyptians take the lead, but give them the tools, training and models for development. Support them until they become self sufficient and can rely on local funds and resources to build civil society institutions which support human rights, women’s rights, freedom, democracy, and a free press.

On the global landscape, Palestine and Pakistan are terrifying. On the local landscape, I continue to be heartened. One of my best Jewish friends and supporters encourages me to have faith, as he has in Salam Fayyad, Prime Minister of the PLO, whom he has met with a couple of times, but about whom he is concerned.

Last week my dinner host, an American Muslim and an attorney at a prominent local law firm, talked of being trapped in the Mumbai blast of the Taj Hotel, November 2008, with his 78-year-old father. He narrated the harrowing experience at length and focused on the “dastardliness of the terrorists who killed the Jewish parents of an infant.” Sanity and humanity can still win the day!

I landed in Karachi in rush hour traffic at 8:30 pm. My driver, Karim was only too eager to give me a quick fix on Pakistan from his perspective as a man on the street. He says with conviction: “Benazir was killed by her jealous husband, Zardari is a puppet of the US which, by the way, is behind the Taliban and responsible for the mess not only in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq but also in the rest of the world. Further, the price of basic staples is crippling the common man. By August 14, independence day next year, Pakistan, as a state, will cease to exist.”

From the street to the velvet society, my favorite cousin greets me cocooned in her lovely bungalows. Lush lawns and all the amenities of the west combine with the household help, good living and spacious family time of the East. We settle into dinner in the bedroom with my 90 year old aunt where the trolley is rolled in with hot chapattis, corn curry, chicken in yogurt and fresh mangoes for dessert.

There is a deep divide between the madrasa culture and the velvet society. The disrespect is palpable as my cousin’s husband says: “You are going to meet those fundos?” My cousin, who underplays her smarts by describing herself as “just a housewife” tells me what I need to tell America: “The US must give aid with strings attached. They must support education. And women’s economic empowerment – women are half of our power source. America should downplay itself in Pakistan- be invisible. Pakistan will toe the US line – the US must set a high bar.”

The next morning, I rush out for my flight to Lahore and find myself with a driver accompanied by a guard. I recall an earlier visit to Pakistan for a family wedding where I was completely intimidated by guards with Kalashnikovs who paced the compound all night long. Security and precautionary living have become a way of life for the velvet society.

Surprise: A Wahabi leader I like
At Lahore airport, I am met by my colleague, Azhar Hussain, who developed the innovative teacher training program for madrasas which the Muslim Women’s Fund will support. He introduces me to his traditionally dressed companion, Qazi Abdul Qadeer Khamosh, a Wahabi religious leader. Azhar says: “This is the first and last time you will shake the hand of a Muslim man in Lahore on this trip. Qazi Khamosh, a mild mannered man of moderate height and weight in his mid 40’s has an open face, a welcoming smile and ignores the fact that I have forgotten to cover my head with my dupatta, scarf. The handshake surprises me, rubs against my stereotypes of a Wahabi who I expect to instantly dislike.

Qazi Khamosh is secretary general of the Alliance on the Restoration of Democracy which was created in 1999 when former president Musharraf came to power. It is an anti military alliance- focused on reinstating the constitution and having an independent judiciary.Surprises continue: The Qazi tells me that he is personally guided by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founder, who was guided by five precepts – liberalism, progressiveness, modernity, democracy and a respect for social values — the first Law Minister of Pakistan was a Hindu. The skeptic in me wonders: Is Khamosh one smart cookie, catering to the fact that I am Indian and therefore value the uniquely Indian definition of secularism, which is that all people – Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists – can freely practice their faith and be tolerant towards each other?

More paradoxes and surprises come tumbling out as Khamosh shares his views with me on assorted subjects including his marriage to his first cousin.

Qazi Khamosh espouses support for civil society and NGOs. He wants to move people away from hate and towards appreciating a universal humanity. He says: “poverty is a magnet for madrasas and madrasas are a magnet for radicalism.”

Khamosh has his finger on the economic pulse of Pakistan and is insightful about the sociology and psychology of destitute Pakistanis when he explains: “Men have to accept that the one income family model is dead. When a woman earns, she will be respected and her opinion will be counted. Currently, we have male values, but when a woman becomes economically independent, she becomes a partner in the couple.”

Khamosh wins my heartwhen he introduces me to his wife in their bedroom and says: “She is not only my wife. She is my friend. I don’t do anything without consulting her.”

Unadulterated Despair:

The long car rides were broken up by visits to girl’s madrasas – the very purpose of my visit. On the first day we drove to Gujrawala on the outskirts of Lahore where we visited our first madrasa, Jamia Taleem- ul- Quran Wal Hadith Lil Binnat, a 65 year old institution considered the mother and springboard for girls’ madrasas. I100 girls attend this madrasa and about 350 girls are borders. Here we were greeted with little girls who created a circle in the entrance way, each holding a tray of rose petals which they showered us with as we entered the premises

We met with Bareera Khokhar, principal and administrator who has been at this madrasa for thirteen years The madrasa offers two programs: one is a Masters in Islamic Studies and adolescents from 15-20 are enrolled in this program; the other is a Masters in memorizing the Quran and the girls enter this after 8th grade and they are 10-13 years old. Both programs are recognized by the government.

We start the madrasa tour. It is 120 degrees outside. Power shortages are the norm. No lights. No fans. The girls in some cases were divided by age into sections and sat in little rooms on floor mats in their traditional clothes, with heads covered. Many students raise their dupatta or scarf above their nose so just their eyes are visible. As we walked in and out of several classrooms, I was overwhelmed. Crushed by a sense of total despair, I recognized that the madrasa education was so woefully inadequate in training the girls to be educated, employed and self sufficient. It seemed like such a colossal waste of human potential in a desperately poor country where every pair of hands needs to be put to work to feed the hungry mouths.

One woman who participated in the teacher trainings shook me to the core when she said “ Muslim women need to be hidden as if covered over by a lid.” She lectures to thousands of women every month. She is our nemesis but fortunately, I was told, she is the exception rather than the norm.

Hope in two places: Teacher trainings and the Qazi’s views to reclaim “true Islam”

Teachers who have participated in the training programs focusing on – math, science and history plus gender and human equality with non violence – experience a paradigm shift in perspectives and values as Umair Khokhar explained: “I learned to understand the intent of a speaker, to be broadminded, to not judge a speaker by one’s own faith and to recognize and steer away from sectarianism.”

Khamosh says the teacher trainings have given him clarity and inspired him to work with tough institutions and leaders in the second tier of leadership. He says before the teachers attend the 3 day training, they think “people (non Muslims) are lost. After the program, they recognize that they are lost and need to mend their ways.”

I hear an amazing story about a traditional teacher who attended the training. – which ignited a spark. She was so charged that she begged her mother to join her in the training. The family’s first response was: “you are acting like an agent of the outsiders.” The mother complied and soon mother/ daughter conspired in successfully persuading the son/brother, a member of Laksh e Taiba, cited for the Mumbai blasts last year and other terrorist attacks, to relinquish his role in that organization.

The big challenge in Islam, says the Qazi, is to understand how it is being used/manipulated today. We have to learn how to use Islam to promote peace and modernity. When I credit him with showing us a new path, he quickly responds with: “I am showing true Islam” and explains that as madrasas turn moderate, many Muslims shy away from funding them.

My one regret is that in my short visit I was not able to connect with more Muslim women who could give me insights into the madrasa world. Yet, when I hear Khamosh saying that he is trying to figure out how men and women can be re-socialized in a productive way, and that Islam is not a hate promoting religion but rather one that bestows rights on women, I can’t help but wonder if he is part of a turning tide – against nihilistic Islam. As cited by the Economist, in Egypt and Sudan, new trends are emerging- Bin Laden’s global jihad is retreating and Islam, inherently democratic and peaceful is gaining ground – despite the bloodied landscapes of Pakistan’s once heavenly landscapes in the Swat Valley.